The Twists and Turns of Life
by InkJoy
Summary: Chapter 16 posted. He missed her. He knew that for sure...It was then that he knew what he had to do. He had to go see her. Please R&R.
1. Damn Clock

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: TOTALLY AU!!! Here's a little background information: Rory goes to Stars Hollow High, but will be transferred to Chilton. I believe that I will have them be juniors… Tristan was never sent to military school. Him and Rory are best friends. Ever since they became friends, he stopped going through girls (making out with them, and so on). Rory lives with her dad and mom in a house that is located next to Tristan's. they visit each other almost on a regular basis. Their rooms are both on the second level of the houses and they face each other, so they both have ladders that they can climb to get into each others rooms (think Dawson's Creek - the whole Joey climbing the ladder to get into Dawson's room). They also have keys hidden on top of the door frame for the other person in case they needed to get into each others room for whatever reason. Rory's parents like Tristan and totally trust him. I think that's it for now. If there's anything else, I'll be sure to add it to other chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

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Chapter 1: Damn Clock

~Rory's POV~

I stood out on the balcony, looking into the window of my room across from his. I took in slow breaths, savoring the smell - rain. It hadn't begun to fall yet, but I could smell it in the air. It somehow comforted me and gave me a sense of relaxation.

"What are you doing out here? Aren't you cold?" he asked as he brought his arms around me.

"I'm just thinking. And no, I'm not cold, not anymore." I looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." He kissed the top of my head then rested his chin on it.

We just stood there for a while, neither of us exactly sure of how much time had actually passed. "We should probably go back inside," he said, breaking the comfortable silence that fell between us.

"Probably. We need sleep so we can stay awake." 

"Yeah, I don't think that the school board would like it all that much if you fell asleep on your first day there." 

I smiled, remembering the day my mom had made the decision to let me transfer to Chilton. I would finally be able to see Tristan everyday. I took in a deep breath. "Let's sleep." 

We walked into his bedroom and slipped under his covers. "'Night, Mary." He brought his arms around me as he tried to get comfortable.

"Good _morning_," I said, correcting him. I noticed that it actually was two in the morning, after I had glanced at his clock. I snuggled into his arms, both of us soon falling asleep.

***

I woke up to his alarm clock. _Damn clock_, I thought to myself while trying to turn it off. Tristan, wake up." I shook his arm.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled. 

I smiled and added, "No, you have to get up now. I have to head back over to my house to get ready. I'll meet you at school, okay?"

"Mmhmm," he mumbles again, sinking deeper into his pillow.

"Tristan!" I pulled the pillow out from under him and hit him with it. "Up!"

He laughed and got up towards the bathroom. Before he shut the door completely, he turned to me and said, "You are such a slave driver."

I glared at him before reaching for my coat and climbing down the ladder.

A/N: Seems kind of short, but I'm already starting to write the next chapter. Please review!


	2. Starting Chilton

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Italics represents Rory's thoughts. I will also be constantly changing point-of-views from chapter to chapter. Sorry if that bugs you; I just tend to change ways like that. 

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Chapter 2: Starting Chilton

Rory looked at her reflection in the mirror. She inwardly groaned at the sight of herself in the blue and white Chilton uniform. _At least I look good in these colors._

She walked downstairs into the kitchen to get her daily fix of coffee. "Hey, mom, dad."

"Hey, sweetie. Are you excited about starting at Chilton?"

"Yeah, mom. I can't wait to see how Tristan acts in school. Apparently he is a totally different kind of person."

"How so?" Christopher asked.

"I don't know. I guess I'll see today. I'd better get going. Bye."

"Bye," both her parents called out.

***

Rory walked into the massive hallway and began to get nervous. _This is just school, you'll be fine. Just start moving your feet to the office… _But apparently her legs had different plans, they just stood still as Rory continued to will them to move.

"Can you move?" Rory turned, finding herself face to face with a girl about her height with long blonde hair.

"Oh, sorry." Rory moved over slightly, so the blonde could get past.

"And you shouldn't stand there like an idiot, people will start to believe that you actually are one," she called over her shoulder.

"Great," Rory whispered to herself, "thanks."

***

After 30 minutes in the office, she was finally able to head to her first class. As soon as she opened the door, all eyes came to rest on her. She looked around nervously before spotting the blonde that she briefly met with earlier and a pair of comfort giving blue eyes that only stared at her with amusement. She smiled slightly before the teacher interrupted her thoughts and introduced her to the class.

"Everyone, this is…" the teacher started before looking at the note that Rory had given her, "Rory Gilmore." A few scattered 'hi's' and snickers were heard throughout the room before Rory was told to take a seat. She could already tell that going to Chilton was going to be a very interesting experience.

***

Lunch had come before Rory knew it, but she hadn't seen Tristan since first period. She found herself wandering around the hallways in hopes of finding him. She was about to turn a corner when she heard Tristan's voice, along with a couple others. So she stood there, listening in.

"So, Tristan, you see that new chick?" Rory assumed that they were talking about her.

A simple 'yes' was all Tristan said.

"Well…?" came another voice.

"Well, what?" Tristan asked with a sigh.

"You wanna do her, or is she up for grabs?" A red alarm went off in Rory. How could people ask stuff like that? But this wasn't surprised her the most.

"Oh, yeah, she's all mine," Tristan started with a laugh, "so none of you better even think about looking at her. And I'll tell you what, by the end of next week, I guarantee that I'll have bedded her and dumped her."

She didn't know if she was more mad or sad. Mad for the obvious reason of what Tristan had just said, but said to think that her best friend was capable of saying such things about her. 

She walked out from around the corner and stood, waiting for the three guys to acknowledge her presence. The laughter that had been coming from all guys suddenly stopped and Tristan turned to find a red-faced Rory.

Suddenly the smile from his face fell as he noticed what she had just heard. "Rory-" he started before being cut off by her.

"NO! How could you say something like?"

"I-"

"Don't even bother. Do me a favor and just stay away from me." She turned and started to run into the nearest bathroom. She started sobbing quietly.

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Please review!


	3. Guys Suck

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Italics are people's thoughts, as you will figure out when you read this.

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Chapter 3: Guys Suck

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I just couldn't keep my big, fat mouth shut, could I? "Rory! Talk to me, please!" He started banging on the door to the girl's bathroom. No response. "Rory? Please?" The intensity of his voice died down slightly as he placed his head on the door.

Her sobs had somewhat subsided, but her mind was still screaming out accusations of her so-called 'best friend'. She didn't want to talk to him. She knew that he would try to explain himself to her, why he said such horrible and crude things about her, but she didn't want to hear it. He had hurt her so much with just those words. So she stayed quiet, huddled in a corner. _At least I got to see what he's like at school._

***

She mentally slapped herself at the realization of what she just did. She spent the remainder of the school day just hidden in a stall, trying to figure out what she would tell her parents, how she would be able to be around Tristan anymore.

She walked out of the bathroom ten minutes before school was going to end and headed out to her car. She mindlessly threw her backpack in the passenger seat and turned on the engine. As she was about to drive off, she saw Tristan and the two guys she saw him with earlier, talking about her as if she wasn't even a person. She made a note to herself to never talk to those guys as Tristan brought his gaze up to her.

Her eyes were bloodshot and still teary. He saw the hurt that had spread throughout her whole body; hurt that he had caused. As he started to walk towards her car, she sped off.

***

"Mom?" Rory let out tiredly.

"In here!" She heard the call from the kitchen and immediately went to the coffee maker. She quietly got a cup and sat down across the table from her mother, eyes staring down at the coffee in her hands that she had yet to drink.

"How was the first day of-," as soon as she noticed her daughter's puffy eyes, she turned the conversation around.. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" 

"Guys suck," was her only response.

"I think that's universal knowledge, but care to elaborate?"

"I went to go find Tristan during lunch today," she started slowly, "and I overheard him talking to a couple of his friends. They were talking about who was going to 'do me'," she said with pure disgust in her voice, "then Tristan said that he was going to be the one to 'bed me' and dump me by the end of next week. That's why guys suck." Her lips formed into a pout as she slumped down further into her chair.

"No!" Lorelai replied out of pure shock. "Why would he do that?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know, but I know that I can't talk to him. So if he comes over, can you just tell him to go away?" Rory pleaded while finally looking up at her mother.

Lorelai was baffled. _How could he do this to her?_ Lorelai nodded comfortingly at her daughter. "Of course."

Rory got up from her seat and kissed her mom on the cheek, handing her the coffee she didn't take a sip out of. She slowly made her way up the stairs to her room then went to her bed, seeking out a comfort that she knew wouldn't be there.


	4. New Lock

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The Twists and Turns of Life

Chapter 4: New Lock

She took in a deep breath as she woke from her light slumber. She peered over at her clock. 4:45. At least she got some sleep. She turned back and shut her eyes, burying herself deep into her blankets and pillow.

"Rory," she heard a soft voice call out from the corner. She groaned out loud after realizing whose voice it was.

"I need to get those locks changed," she said out loud to herself as she pulled the covers over her head.

"Rory, please just let me explain." His voice was pleading, pleading that she would at least hear him out.

She pulled the covers around her more, not wanting to answer him. "Go away, Tristan."

He made his way over to her bed, sitting beside her. "No. You have to understand why I said what I said."

"I don't care why you said it. What matters is that you did. How could you after we've been friends for that long? Do you really think you could do that to me? That I would actually let you?" She took in another deep breath, not even bothering to remove her shield of blankets to face him.

"Rory-"

"No, just go…please."

He waited for a few more seconds before he walked away from her bed and descended down the ladder.

***

He sat on his bed, slapping himself over and over and over. What was he thinking? Right, of course - he _wasn't_ thinking. He yelled at himself repeatedly. How could he so carelessly say something like that? He was sure that he lost the only relationship that actually meant something to him.

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***

There. New lock. No more unexpected visits from him. She smiled to herself at what she just accomplished. She figured that it would raise too many questions if she asked her parents for a new lock, so she just did it herself. She got up from her crouching position on the ground and stepped inside, shutting the door to her balcony behind her. She looked up, seeing Tristan on the other side. He was watching her change her lock. She stared at him for a few moments before turning away and shutting her drapes.

***

What was wrong with her? This was supposed to feel good. She shut Tristan out of her life. After what he did, who could blame her? But after last week when he saw her actually locking him out of her room, she felt guilty. She saw the look of hurt on his face, but she told herself that he deserved it. He deserved to feel some of the hurt that he had inflicted upon her…didn't he?

"Rory?" 

She looked up from her plate at her dad. "Yeah?" she asked, returning her attention to the peas she was pushing around on her plate.

"Are you alright? You've barely eaten anything."

She nodded slightly, not wanting to explain what had happened to her earlier that day. She knew her mom would tell him later, so there was no use in her telling him.


	5. What a Great Version of Hell This Is

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Italics are Rory's thoughts. This chapter will switch POV's, too, but it will be quite clear which one it is.

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Chapter 5: What a Great Version of Hell This Is

Hell. That's what going to school felt like now. Classes stretched out further, if even possible, and everyone seemed to get on her nerves very easily. She had no one to really talk to; it didn't really bug her before, but that was because she actually had someone to go to if she ever did need to talk. But not now; now she just sat by herself in the library or in the cafeteria…it got to be so lonely.

***

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Great, late again. I wouldn't be late so often if that friggin' locker of mine would actually open when I want it to.

"Ms. Gilmore…how nice of you to join us." _Oh, crap…I knew that teacher didn't like me all that much…_ Everyone in the class started snickering. 

"Sorry, Mr. Gregg. My locker was giving me troubles-"

"Save your excuses," he interrupted, "Chilton does not tolerate tardiness. I thought that you smart enough to realize this."

_Okay…that made me mad._ "Of course not, Mr. Gregg. It won't happen again," I forced out through clenched teeth.

"Good. Well? What are you waiting for? Take your seat."

_More muffled laughs…great. _I looked around the classroom or an available seat and was instantly regretting being late. I slouched a little, reluctantly taking the seat next to Tristan. I pulled out my books from my backpack and turned my attention to the teacher when I felt someone tug at my sleeve.

"You can't even stand to sit next to me now?" he asked, anger dripping from every word.

"Just pay attention, Tristan," I replied with equal anger.

"I can't believe you." He shook his head.

I turned my attention to him fully. "Excuse me?" I was starting to get really mad now.

He turned fully toward me, raising his voice as if trying to relay his message to me without any confusion. "It's not enough that you change your lock to keep me out of your room, but you won't even look at or talk to me?! You're being so childish, Rory!" _Okay…now the whole class is staring…including the teacher…that's great._

"Mr. DuGrey!" There's the teacher's stern voice, but he won't be able to stop us…

"I'm being childish?! How about you?! You practically told your 'friends' that you were going to sleep with me then dump me! You should have just gotten a big huge neon sign saying 'I'm going to screw Rory so don't even try to until I'm finished with her'!"

"Ms. Gilmore!!" And again he tries.

"I only said what I said because I didn't want anyone else to try to hit on you!"

"Mr. DuGrey!" God…why is he even trying?

"Why do you even care?!" Wow…somewhere between all of this, we both managed to get out of our seats and start yelling at each other in the isle, using full animation with our arms.

"Because I want you!" _Okay…wasn't expecting that…_ The room went silent, even the teacher. I just stared at him, speechless. "You know what? I can't deal with you right now." And with that, he grabbed his stuff and stormed out of the classroom.

"Wha…?" I was confused and shocked now. _Did he actually just say what I think I heard him say? _ _And since when did guys storm out of rooms…? Okay…wrong thing to think about…_


	6. Too Many Tears

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Sorry if all the switching POV's is kind of confusing, but it was easier to write this way to get the whole story across. I hope you like this chapter.

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Disclaimer: I only own Tom, Maggie, and this story.

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Chapter 6: Too Many Tears

He won't talk to me now. It's been two days since our…argument in the classroom. He hasn't looked at me or talked to me. He's gone out of his way to steer clear of me that I've barely even seen a lock of his hair. I miss him. Even more than before. I couldn't help thinking what he meant by that - _"Because I want you!"_ Sure, there was the obvious meaning, but Tristan seeing me in any other way besides a friend? That just seemed weird. I told mom; she didn't say anything, she just gave me a hug and told me to follow my heart. I wish I could. I would love nothing more than to know what my heart wants and to just go with whatever it decides, but I have yet to hear what it wants.

***

She was wrong; this was hell. Before Tristan's little declaration to Rory came out, at least people left her alone. But now, guys were hitting on her, telling that she deserved better than Tristan, telling her that they were the ones that could make her happy. And the girls, wells the girls were anything but nice. Some yelled at her, saying that Tristan didn't need to be treated the "horrible and bitchy way" she had apparently treated him. Some had that look in their eyes, the look saying "I'm going to kill you if you even try to look in my direction" or "You're going to pay for what you did to our precious Tristan". They all hated her because she was the one that had Tristan's heart. 

***

And the hits just keep coming. Mom got a call today. I wasn't sure who it was at first, but judging by the look on her face, it wasn't good news at all. I remember how my heart sank even further when I heard her say those words - "Your uncle Tom passed away." I loved him. That much was clear. He lived in Massachusetts, not that far from us. When I was younger, my dad and I would visit him every other weekend. He was one of the few uncles I could tolerate and now he was gone. I cried. Dad told me that it was just his time. Maybe that was true, but it didn't hurt any less. Mom and dad made arrangements to take us all out there next week for his funeral; thank God it will be spring break by then.

***

I had to talk to Tristan. Tell him at least that I was going to be gone. I wasn't even sure that he would care, but I had to try. I probably looked like crap. It was a miracle that I was even able to stop crying, but today was the last day 'til break and I didn't want to miss it for no apparent reason. I waited for him by his locker after arriving at school 10 minutes earlier than usual to make sure that I would catch him. I guess he didn't notice me there or was trying to avoid me, as usual, because he just went straight for the lock and exchanged all of his books without muttering a single word.

I stared at him for a few seconds, seeing him fully for the first time in days. "Tristan," I stated softly. He still didn't look at me. Tears came to my eyes again. I hated the fact that it never took a lot to get me to cry. "Tristan, please…"

He slammed his locker and turned to me. "What the hell do you want?" He sounded so cold. I didn't even know him anymore.

I didn't dare look up into his eyes. Instead, I just muttered, "Never mind" and walked away. The rest of the day passed by slowly, painfully slowly, but I refused to go home. There was just more sadness there waiting for me.

***

Guilt. That's what I felt. Sure, I was a little mad at her for not trying to speak to me after the declaration I had made to her a few days ago, but I guess that I am partly at fault for that; I have been avoiding her. And she did just try to talk to me earlier today. And what do I do? I yell at her. Jerk Tristan never fails to make an appearance when it counts… She looked so sad, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and I wanted nothing more than to be the person that took that burden away.

_"Didn't you hear?"_

I rolled my eyes. The girls at Chilton never did have anything better to do than gossip.

_"Hear what?"_

_"The Gilmore chick-"_ That caught my full attention. _"Apparently some relative of hers died or something. I heard from…"_ So that's why she looked like hell run over twice. Maybe that's why she had come to me…to seek comfort…and all I did was turn her away from me.

One of the girls scoffed._ "It serves her right, after what she did to Tristan."_

I got mad at that. I yelled at them, what words, I'm not sure, but they did seem scared. I can count on them never saying anything like that about Rory again.

The bell rang, the last bell of the day. I ran out of the classroom and out of the school, hoping against hope that I could catch her. She was walking, no, dragging, herself across the parking lot to her car. She was crying, still, again, I wasn't sure, but I knew that I was part of the reason for that. I yelled out her name, but she didn't seem to hear me, that, or she was ignoring me, a weapon that both of us had been using lately. I tried running to where she was, but that didn't help either. Before I knew it, she was in her car and driving out of the lot.

***

I slung the bag over my shoulder. It had a couple pairs of pajamas, a black dress, a few other outfits. Mom told me that we were only going to be staying in Massachusetts for a couple days, but I had a feeling that dad would want to stay there longer. Maybe to talk to family members, try to comfort Maggie, Tom's wife. Or maybe we would come back in a couple days. I didn't really know. I walked down the stairs and saw my dad sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. He was crying. I have never seen him cry. But it makes sense. He and uncle Tom were the closest brothers could be, and my dad had lost him.

"Hey, dad," I whispered as I sat down next to him.

He looked at me, giving me a sad smile before pulling me into a hug. "Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I found that jokes were a good way to make a situation lighter; I knew that it wouldn't work now, but I was desperate to see anyone I was close to smile.

He gave me a sad smile too before giving me another hug. We held each other for the whole twenty minutes before we actually had to leave. We didn't want to let go.

***

I got home at four. I would have gotten there sooner, but Paris had to talk to me. I can't remember what she said, but she implied that it was a life or death situation. I'll have to remember to ask her tomorrow what she said to me. I drove by her house, Rory's, but their car wasn't there. I figured that they all went somewhere for dinner or something.

I walked up to my room, immediately going to the balcony door to look through the drapes. I did that every day. I couldn't find enough courage to speak to her, but just seeing her was somehow enough to last me through the night, even though I couldn't hold her anymore. That's when I saw it - an envelope.

I opened the door and pulled it from the window where it was held up by tape. The front simply read _Tristan_. It was her writing. I tore the envelope open and read:

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Dear Tristan,

I tried to talk to you this morning and you turned away, in fact, I don't even blame you. I tried so hard to not listen to what everyone at school was saying, but I couldn't. They kept on saying that you deserve better than me, Tristan, and the truth is that you do. I could never live up to be the person who could make you happy, the person that you could love with all your heart. I just can't. 

I'm on my way out of the state, to where, I won't bother you with or why, but I'm considering moving there. It is just too painful to be here, Tristan, too painful, and I don't think that my heart can handle any more pain. I hope you can forgive me and just move on. I wish with all my heart that I won't be the reason why you are holding back from something or someone that you want. I can't tell you how sorry I am for the past few days; I'm sure you're hurting as much as I am.

Goodbye,

Rory

What? She wants to move? I could barely even breathe without her for the last few days and now she's going to move? I couldn't take it anymore. For the first time in my life, I cried.


	7. Sleep Peacefully

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you to all of you who have reviewed!

little angel in love: Sorry, I guess that is a little confusing. Rory's family lived in Stars Hollow before she moved there; they just got lucky in finding a house that was next to Tristan's. All of the other stuff I said in chapter 1 still applies. I don't know if that cleared it up for you even a little bit or not, but I still hope that I helped. If you're still confused, just tell me; I'll try my best to clear it up for you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, only this story.

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Chapter 7: Sleep Peacefully

It's different here, how, I don't know, but it just is. The air here is suffocating; maybe it is because I can't stop sobbing. I watched mom and dad get out of the car and walk up to the door, but I just couldn't move my legs. I didn't even know if I would be able to hold myself together if I were to step into that house, that house that was so full of childhood memories, love, and pictures of my uncle. So I sat there for a while, just in the car by myself. I guess everyone understood because no one came out to get me.

***

It's been 24 hours since I've seen her. The longest 24 hours of my life. I went over to their house to ask one of the maids or butlers where they were. They wouldn't tell me. I knew that Rory had told them not to. Damn her for being so stubborn. Didn't she know how much I need her? Apparently not, but I guess I didn't give her a reason to with the way I had been acting lately. I have to find her somehow; tell her how much I need, want her, tell her how sorry I am…hold her in my arms again. I just have to.

***

I finally made it into the house. After I took one step through the door, everyone's eyes were on me and I broke down. I collapsed to the floor and the last image I saw was my parents running to me before everything went black.

***

My head hurt so much and my eyelids struggled to open. When they finally did, I was in a room that I immediately recognized. It was the room I would stay in when dad and I came here to visit. I looked down and saw my parents on either side of the bed I was lying in with their heads down on the mattress by my sides. It looked like they were sleeping. I held onto their hands tightly, suddenly the fear of losing one of them weighing down on my heart. 

***

We stayed for three days, not really wanting to leave. I had asked mom and dad if I could stay with Maggie for the remainder of spring break. I even told them that I would attend the school here, something to keep me busy, since their spring break happened before ours did. They didn't really seem to mind; they knew that Maggie needed the company and they would have stayed too if it wasn't for their jobs. Maggie was happy, the most happy I'd seen her in the past few days and I was glad that I was apart of that reason. 

We drove back up the Hartford so that I could pack some more clothes. I felt relieved when I stepped into my room. The smell and the comfort that came over me felt so great. I walked over to my bed and climbed into the covers. For the first time in days, I slept peacefully.

***

I drove around for a while, not really paying attention to my surroundings. I asked all of her friends if they knew where she was, but that was no help at all since Rory apparently didn't tell them about her maybe moving. I even went as far as asking Paris; that didn't turn out well. She ended up yelling at me about disturbing her at home then slamming the door in my face. So, I decided to come back home, maybe write her an e-mail or write her a letter, anything. I had to do something to busy myself with. I drove into my driveway and saw their car. My heart leapt and I ran over to their front door.

***

"Tristan…what are you doing here?" Lorelai wasn't sure. She hadn't seen Tristan in days and according to what Rory had said about what happened between the two of them and how she had acted before the death, Lorelai wasn't all that sure that Rory would want to see him.

"Is she here?" Tristan breathed out, getting excited at the mere thought of seeing her again.

Lorelai hesitated. "Yeah, but-"

Before she could finish, Tristan pushed his way through and ran up to Rory's room.

***

There he was, standing in front of her door. He had been standing there for minutes, not really knowing what to say. All of this time he had wanted her to come back, be within at least seeing range, and he hadn't even thought about what he would say to her if-when she came back. He finally knocked softly, the pressure and anxiety weighing down on him and he waited for her to answer her door. When she didn't, he instantly became worried. He didn't know why, but he did. He quietly opened the door and let out a sigh of relief when he saw her sleeping. He shut the door behind him after stepping in and watched her as she breathed in and out. He finally walked over to her bed and climbed under the covers with her, taking her back into his arms after what seemed like an eternity. He soon fell asleep breathing in the scent that was purely her.


	8. Don't You Know I Need You?

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you to all of you who have reviewed. It means so much to me!

frackandbonechick: Don't worry - whatever I have happen in this fic of mine will all work out eventually; I did say that this was going to be a TRORY after all.

Disclaimer: I only own this story and the characters that I mentioned in previous disclaimers.

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Chapter 8: Don't You Know I Need You?

She was overcome with such a warm and peaceful feeling that she didn't want to wake up ever. The feeling that overtook her body was an emotion that she readily welcomed and she hoped that it wouldn't be the last time she would ever feel it.

She sighed deeply and opened her eyes. Immediately, a smile found its way to her features as she noticed Tristan's sleeping form next to her. Her arms were resting against his chest and his were around her waist. Then she felt like crying. Memories of the past week and a half came flooding back to her. A frown replaced the smile as she brought her hand up to his face, something she felt she had to do just to make sure he was really there. And he was. She spent the next 20 minutes watching him sleep, something she had never really done before.

***

He had been awake for a while now, reveling in the feeling of having her touch him. He was afraid to open his eyes, in all truth, but he knew that he would have to eventually.

***

I didn't know exactly what I was feeling. All of the emotions that were flowing through my body meshed together and I couldn't figure out which one was which.

Somewhere in the midst of everything, my gaze drifted down to his lips. They looked so soft and so…kissable. I looked back up at his eyes, finally noticing that they were open. My heart started to pound faster, not knowing how long he had been awake. 

"Hey." His voice was quiet and laced with sleep.

I tore my stare away from him and looked down toward my hands, wringing them nervously. "Hey." There was a long drawn out silence that didn't seem to want to end. I finally looked back up into his eyes. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to come see you." Not once did his eyes waver from mine and that made me all the more self-conscience. Suddenly I became aware of our arms around each other.

I cleared my throat and looked down again. "Why?" I don't even know if he heard my question or not; my voice seemed lost to even myself.

He brought his hand up to my chin, lifting it up gently so that I would look at him; I was reluctant to. "Because I had to tell you…" he trailed off.

"Tell me what?"

He let out a huge sigh and got out of the bed, pacing around once he got up. "You-you're so stupid, you know that?"

I shot up out of bed. "What?!"

"You are so unbelievably stupid and oblivious!"

I scoffed and walked over to where he was. "Well, this is a great way to be greeted by someone!"

He didn't seem to hear me. "You just leave without telling me-"

"I tried to tell you that day and you just yelled at me!"

"-then you leave me a letter saying that you're going to move?!"

"Tristan-"

"How could you just do that?!"

"Tristan-"

"Don't you know I need you?" 

All conversation stopped and I stared at him disbelievingly. I stared at him intently, trying to figure out if he was kidding or not, but all he did was study the floor pattern. "What?"

He took another deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He walked up to me and took my hands in his, staring into my eyes. "I need you…here. I need you to be here, with me."

My mouth opened and closed; I had no idea what to say to that. That's when I tripped over something that was behind me. I was anticipating falling hard, but Tristan's arms moved to my waist, making sure I didn't even come close to crashing to the ground. I looked up into his eyes, appreciation apparent. It took me a while to figure out that he was looking behind at the thing I tripped over. I followed his gaze and saw my suitcase, newly packed with folded clothes and special trinkets that I wanted to take with me back to Maggie's. "Tristan…"

He let go of me and his face grew expressionless. "You really are moving."

It scared me that it wasn't a question "Just let me explain-"

"I can't believe this!" His voice was so loud and abrupt that I jumped in fear. He muttered something under his breath before he walked out of my room, slamming the door on his way out. I flinched at the sound, then began to cry. That's when I started to feel dizzy. I felt my hands fling through the air, trying to grab onto something that I could sturdy myself with, but nothing seemed within the distance. My world went black as I felt the rush of falling to the floor.


	9. Drunken Confession

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: I introduce a new character in this chapter. He and Rory have never met (you'll understand once you read) so everything that happened between them on the show didn't happen.

****

Chapter 9: Drunken Confession

It was cold. That was all that my body could really register; that, and the fact that my bed had gotten really hard. It felt like there were weights on my eyelids and I couldn't, for the longest time, open them. My hand went up to my face, blocking out the sun that came through the window. I opened my eyes slowly and noticed that I was on the ground. Funny - I don't remember falling asleep on the floor.

***

He was going insane. He wanted to tear out his hair and scream out at the top of his lungs; he just needed to do something to get all of this anger and frustration out of his system, but, of course, he didn't do it. His pride and reputation wouldn't let him. He was a together guy who didn't let anything get to him, he was strong, he needed to stay strong.

***

After I took a shower, I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey, honey." I smiled at my mom before giving her a hug. "Are you okay? I heard a thumping noise from your room last night. Did something happen?"

I waved it off with my hand. "Nah, I just fell asleep on the floor. Guess I just wasn't all that graceful in lying down softly." 

She looked like she wanted to say something to me, but hesitation was very clear in her eyes. "What did Tristan want?"

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "Tristan? He wasn't here-" That's when it came to me - Tristan, sleeping, bed, suitcase, yelling, door slamming, fainting. I shook my head quickly, not wanting her to know what happened. "Nothing happened. We just talked, then he left."

She didn't look like she believed me, but I was glad that she let it go. "Okay." She looked to be in great thought for a second before a smile appeared on her face. "So you happy to be staying with Maggie?"

I smiled too. "Totally."

***

I looked over at his house every few seconds, hoping, wishing, wanting, for him to just happen to appear in the doorway, waiting for me to come talk to him, but his front door never opened.

"All set." My gaze turned to my dad who had just put my last suitcase in the truck of my car.

"Great. Thank you, dad." I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Drive safely, alright? I would like for my favorite daughter to come back to us in one piece." He gave me a smirk.

"First of all, I'm your only daughter, so I'm your favorite by default, and second of all, I'm nothing if not a safe driver."

He gave me another smile. "Call us when you get there, okay?"

"Sure thing. Bye, dad." I looked past his shoulder over to mom standing in the doorway. "Bye, mom!"

She gave me a wave and blew me a kiss. I smiled at both of them before getting into my car and driving away.

***

_She's really leaving._ Tristan watched from the window in his room as Rory drove off. He breathed in deeply before running a hand through his hair. _How did I screw this up?_

***

"Tristan?" She looked so surprised to see him, but, then, anyone would have been surprised if some teenage boy dropped by unexpectedly at their house at 2 in the morning a little drunk.

"Yep, that's me." He stumbled into the house, not really paying attention to where he was going. "You know, Lorelai, I am totally in love with your daughter." He stopped, cocking his head to one side, contemplating what he just said. He turned to her, raising his right hand out in front of him, pointing to her. "You knew that, right?"

"She looked at him weirdly, before cautiously supplying, "Yes…"

"Good," he started to wave his hands through the air, "because I was starting to think that I just somehow imagined it all. 'Cause that can happen, right? I mean, you can dream up having feelings for someone, can't you?"

She looked at him, curiously. "Are you drunk, Tristan?"

He gave a dramatic gasp. "Me? Drunk? Like that could ever happen!" He plopped down on the couch. "Hey, Lorelai…" he whispered, motioning for her to come closer so he could share a secret with her. 

"What?" she played along. 

"I _am_ drunk," he whispered, then burst out laughing.

She laughed lightly, not really knowing what to do with this version of Tristan. "Okay…now that we've established that… What are you doing here?"

He got up and started pacing. "I just can't figure her out!" He looked so serious now; Lorelai was baffled by the way he could just change like that. "First we fight, then I yell, then I tell her that I like her, then I think that she is going to tell me that she likes me too, but then she tells me that she's moving somewhere-"

"Wait," she interrupted, "she told you she was moving?"

"Yep," he nodded, "she wrote it in this letter she gave me before you all left to go wherever you went," he said while waving his hand through the air.

"She's not moving, Tristan. She's just going to stay in Massachusetts for a few days until break is over. She's going to come back." He looked relieved by that, but Lorelai was a little confused. Why would Rory tell Tristan that she was going to move there? She and Lorelai were going to have a talk about that really soon…

***

She stepped out of her car once she reached Maggie's house. It kind of felt freeing to be somewhere new and, although she was here for a sad reason, she wished that the feeling of being able to start fresh meant something.  
Once she got settled in, she and Maggie went down to the school so that they could arrange for her to go there for the time she was staying in Massachusetts. The school wasn't as large as Chilton, but she liked it better there already. She didn't feel like running to hide in the corner from all of the stuck-up, snotty people. The principal seemed very nice and she got to meet a couple of the teachers as well. She had a feeling that she was going to like it here.

***

His mind was so foggy. He vaguely remembered seeing Lorelai and talking to her, but he couldn't really tell if that had actually happened or if his overactive imagination had played a trick on him. He would have gone over to ask her, but he already felt like a fool. The girl that he liked, maybe even loved, was in another state and her mother might think that he is crazy. Maybe in a couple days, everything would come back to him.

***

The people were so welcoming that she was already wishing her parents had moved here instead of Hartford. She had made friends the second she stepped into the school and already knew the names of everyone in her classes. She fit in here, a feeling that she wanted to stay with her for a while.

***

He remembered. She left. He got drunk then talked to her mother. He told her that he loved her daughter. He felt like slamming his head against a wall. But, it all makes sense – he lost the girl, so why not make a fool of himself in front of her mom? At least the whole family didn't witness his little confession last night. Now he had to make sure that Lorelai didn't go around telling the embarrassing story to other people; he doubted that she would, but he had to make sure. 

***

She felt eyes on her every once in a while. She had only been there for a few hours, her first day at the school, and she felt someone watch her. She would occasionally look around, hoping to catch who it was and always saw him. He was kind of cute, but she didn't know why he had his attention on _her_. She tried to shrug it off, act cool whenever he was around, but every time she saw that he was around, she tensed up.

"Hey." She was broken out of her reverie when she heard a voice. She looked up from the book she was trying to read and saw him.

"Hey." This was the first time they had spoken to each other, but all she could think was that he wasted no time.

"So…what are you up to?"

She held up the book and gave a little smile. "I'm Rory, by the way." She stuck out her hand for him to shake.

He smiled back at her. "I know," he paused for a second, shaking her hand and holding it a little longer than necessary. "Jess."


	10. Summer's Attempt

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Does no one read these little notes I give at the beginning of each chapter? Because if certain people had read the author's note for the last chapter, you would already know the answer to a question, or statement, rather, of where this is going. ;-) I'm glad everyone is reading, though. Thank you all for the reviews. I'm one happy girl!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

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Chapter 10: Summer's Attempt

"Hello?"

"Hey, mom," Rory said happily into the phone.

"Babe! How is everything down there?"

"Great. I helped Maggie plant some flowers in the backyard."

"Really?" 

"Yep. Of course, she did most of the work, but I put some seeds into the ground."

"Aww…my own little gardener…"

Both shared a laugh. "So…anything interesting going on there?"

Lorelai paused, unsure of whether or not to tell Rory about her little conversation with Tristan. "Um…Tristan came by the other day."

Rory frowned when she heard the name. "Oh? What did he say?"

"Something interesting, in fact. He told me that you wrote in a letter to him that you were planning on moving there."

Rory froze, trying to think of what to say. "I," she paused again, "I was just upset and confused when I wrote that letter and it was mostly just a bunch of nonsense. I don't even remember half the stuff I wrote in it."

"Okay, 'cause you know that you could never leave mommy and daddy, right? We'd never let you leave," Lorelai joked, not picking up on Rory's discomfort.

"Yeah," she whispered into the phone.

"So?" Lorelai's perky voice broke Rory out of her state.

"So, what?"

"Meet anyone?"

Rory suddenly smiled. "Yeah. There are these girls, Beth, Faith, and Amy, that I became friends with the first day here. And I also met this guy-"

"A guy?" Lorelai interrupted, remembering Tristan's love declaration for her daughter. 

"Yeah. His name is Jess and he is so funny and fun to hang around with…"

Rory's voice faded as Lorelai sat sadly. She couldn't help but think of how Tristan would react when he found out that there was a new guy in Rory's life.

***

"Hey, Tristan."

Tristan rolled his eyes at the girl. "Hey, Summer," he greeted blandly.

"So…" she started to circle him, skimming her fingers along his chest, "what are you up to tonight?"

He sighed. "Nothing."

"Oh…well, I thought that we could…get together…maybe study or something."

He rolled his eyes again. The fact that Summer even knew of the word 'study' was a miracle in itself. "No, thanks."

She frowned, but put on a smile anyway. "Don't you want any company?" She looked at him with sad eyes. He wanted to laugh at her stupid attempt to 'spend time with him'.

He paused for a minute, appearing to think over the idea. "Fine, but I'll come over to your house."

Her face broke out into a grin. "Great, I'll see you tonight." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked off.

He groaned and ran a hand over his face. _What am I doing?_

***

Rory looked at Jess with adoring eyes as he told a story from his childhood. He was so great to be around and she never had a down moment when he was around.

"-so then she pushed me to the ground and smudged the ice cream all over my face!" He paused to see her watching him. She had been doing that a lot lately and he loved that he had that kind of attention from her.

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Who thought that Jess Mariano would be tackled by a girl?"

"Hey!" he mock protested. "We were six!"

"Sure." 

"We were. And I wasn't about to tackle a girl."

"Uh huh."

"Come on, Rory," he pouted.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Jess is the strongest guy I know and the nicest in the world."

"How come I'm not the strongest guy in the world?"

"What?"

"You said 'strongest guy I know', not 'strongest guy in the world'."

She paused to try to recall if she did say that, then she shrugged. "I wouldn't go as far as saying that."

He glared at her playfully. "That's it." He grabbed a nearby pillow and started to hit her with it.

They both laughed as she reciprocated the action.

***

There he stood, in front of Summer's house. It was ridiculous, really, trying to get over Rory by supposedly screwing the first thing that came his way. It wouldn't even work; he thought about her every breathing moment there was. 

He sighed; this was, is, not a good idea. He turned and started to head back towards his car when he heard Summer's voice.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were going to get here." She came to his side and took his hand, pulling him into her house.

He said nothing as she urged him up into her room, nor did he say anything when she started to strip herself of half of her clothes. She started to kiss him hungrily and work on his shirt and pants. She pushed him down onto the bed, that's when the situation came full blast to him. He pushed her off of him and hastily put his shirt back on and buttoned his pants. 

"What are you doing?" she asked sweetly, too sweetly; it didn't fit her at all.

"I have to go," he mumbled before walking out of the room and getting in his car.

***

"So, are we going to do something later today?" Jess asked her while they were standing next to each other in a classroom.

"Sure, why not…" she paused and shut her eyes, "…and now my head hurts from earlier," she said while rubbing her forehead. 

He laughed, amusement apparent in his eyes. "Well, what did you expect to happen from banging your head against the locker 23 times?" 

"Hey, that Carrie chick was practically bitching me out, so that seemed like a good idea at the time and it was _28_ times, not _23_." Upon seeing the look on Jess' face, she shut her eyes and shook her head slightly. "I don't know why I corrected that."

He chuckled pulled her to him, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Is that better?" he asked as if speaking to a baby.

She smiled, then put on a pout. "A wittle bit, but I got a headache."

"Aww…poor baby…how about I get you some coffee later?"

Her face broke into a huge smile. "You know me all too well." She pulled away from him and sat in her seat as the teacher came into the now full classroom. 

"That I do," he whispered to himself before turning his full attention to the lesson.


	11. Because We Do

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you to all of you who have reviewed. It means so much to me that there are still people reading what I write. 

~On a side note, I've decided that Jess is NOT Luke's nephew, nor does he have such, for the lack of a better word, carefree parents. So Liz and Jimmy don't exist, and I suppose that Luke doesn't exist either. I just want to focus on Rory, Jess, and Tristan.~

Disclaimer: I only own this fic and Maggie.

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Chapter 11: Because We Do

"Jess?"

"Yes?" Jess' eyes remained on the book that was laying open on his lap, knowing that if he looked up, he would only see puppy eyes.

"I have a favor to ask."

He sighed, looking up at her. "Yes, Lori?" 

She smiled at the name he had come to call her by in the past few days. "Well, I talked to Maggie and she said that she was fine with me staying, so, I was hoping that you would come to Hartford with me so that I could get some things."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

She shrugged then flopped down next to him on the sofa. "Company."

"Or…" he turned so that he was facing her completely, "you just don't want to tell them by yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "I can tell them by myself, but it still doesn't diminish the fact that I want you there with me," she softly revealed.

His eyes softened and he pulled her into a hug. "Of course, I'll come."

She smiled up at him and gave him a light kiss on the lips, not really noticing that she did. "We'll be leaving in a couple hours so meet me at Maggie's when you're ready!" she called over her shoulder as she walked out of his room.

Jess licked his lips slowly, still able to taste the lip gloss she had on.

***

They were here. The drive had tired her out, but that was not what was worrying her. The thought of coming back home only to leave again terrified her in a way, but she knew that she had to do it. If only she could find a way to tell her parents.

***

Lorelai's face broke out into a smile when she saw her daughter standing in front of the door. She quickly enveloped Rory in a hug.

"Hey, mom." She paused, enjoying feeling her mom in her arms again. "This is Jess," she motioned over to him, "Jess, this is my mom, Lorelai." 

Lorelai smiled kindly at him as they shook hands. "Well, come in." Both teens were ushered into the house and the door was closed.

***

Rory looked around her room, taking in the contents of her room. Nothing changed everything was the way she had left it.

"So…that's Jess?"

Rory looked up from her suitcase to see her mom standing in the doorway. "Yep, that's him."

"He's seems nice."

Rory scrunched her eyebrows, not really seeing where she was going with this. "He is."

"He's downstairs talking to your dad, you know?" Lorelai moved into the room, sitting herself on the bed.

Rory shrugged. "I don't think that he minds."

There was a break, almost an awkward silence. "What are you doing?"

Rory stopped what she was doing…packing. She had intended to talk to both her parents at the same time, later. "Packing some clothes." 

"Why?" Lorelai grew confused at Rory's sudden uneasiness.

Rory paused. "Because I'm not coming back."

"What?" Lorelai stood up and started to look around the room, as if looking for the hidden cameras.

"I have a life there," she explained, ignoring the question.

"You have a life here, too," Lorelai reasoned, not noticing the tears that had started to trail down her cheeks.

She sighed deeply. "Not one that I love." She paused, hating that she caused her mother to cry. "It hurts being here, and as much as I love you and dad, it doesn't get rid of the fact that I love it in Massachusetts. I'm better there than I am here."

There was a deafening silence. Rory started fidgeting with her fingers, not sure of what to say. Lorelai wiped away some tears than hurried out of the room. Rory ran after her. "Mom!"

She ran after her downstairs. "I refuse to let you go!" Lorelai ran past Chris and Jess over to the front door to lock it.

"You can't just lock me in, mom," she sighed, not having enough energy for her mother's childish ways.

"No, but I can try." She stood in front of the door, ready to push anyone back who dared try to get past her.

"What's going on?" Chris watched the exchange with confusion; Jess sat back on the couch silently, already aware of what Lorelai and Rory were talking about.

"Your _daughter_ just told me that she's not staying."

"What?" Chris stared at his daughter in disbelief, hoping that Lorelai was in some sort of delirium. Rory looked away, which only confirmed what Lorelai had said. "You're leaving?"

Rory looked over at Jess, for help, for anything. As Jess was about to say something, Lorelai looked angrily over at him. "You! You're taking her away!"

Jess stood up, suddenly feeling the need to flee the room. "No!" Rory walked over to where he was and stood in front of him, as if trying to shield him, protect him from the accusations. "I'm leaving because I made the choice, not him."

Lorelai ignored her. "You just had to take our daughter away, didn't you?" She moved from her place by the door and started to run towards him. "I should hit-" Chris grabbed her and held her back as best he could.

Rory reached behind her and grabbed Jess' hand. "We're going to go say goodbye to my friends." She pulled him towards the door, despite Lorelai's yells of protest. "I'll come back later for my stuff." She shut the door behind them and fell into Jess' arms, trying her best not to cry.

"Come on." He gently ushered her over to the car and placed her in the passenger's seat and drove into town where they were supposed to meet the people she wanted to say goodbye to.

***

"We don't have to." 

Rory stared up at him with appreciation in her eyes. "I know, but I want to." He smiled back at her and allowed her to lead him in the direction she wanted to go. 

"Lori…" Rory looked back at him when she heard his voice. 

"Yes?" she asked sweetly.

"This is a coffee shop."

She smirked. "I know."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to meet your friends."

"We are…this is just a pit stop."

"Lori…" he playfully warned.

"Jess…" she mimicked. "Come on, I need coffee," she whined.

He rolled his eyes at her addiction. "Fine…I'll be back in a minute."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked over to the bookshelves that were near the back. She ran her fingers lightly over the spines of the books, looking for one that would interest her. She smiled when she saw one and picked it up, flipping through the pages. She looked up briefly, her smile disappearing when she saw him. Tristan. It was like he knew she was there, too, because he looked up, catching her stare.

She was openly staring at him, they both knew it; she couldn't help but to. They held gazes for a while until someone had tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, startled, and turned to see a very amused Jess. "Wow, didn't know that you would be that excited to see me." 

She brought her hand up to her forehead, rubbing it slightly, while closing her eyes for a couple seconds. "Hey," she said, still able to feel Tristan's gaze on her. 

"Are you alright?" he asked while handing over her coffee.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grabbed the cup.

He looked past her shoulder and noticed the blonde staring intently at them. "Why do I get the feeling that you two know each other?" 

She sighed, placed the book back in its rightful place, and walked out the door with Jess right behind her. "Because we do."

**__**

Next chapter should be out in a couple of days, but it might be wise to remember how lazy I am. It'll be out eventually though, I promise you that. And I will write in Lorelai and Chris in the next chapter or two, so Rory won't be leaving while in a fight with her parents. Please review, thanks!


	12. Greetings and a Moment

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you to all of you who have reviewed!

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rosie4299 & kc: Sorry, guys. I have everything worked out in this fic. Rory and Jess will be together for the next few chapters. But, as I have promised many times in other chapters and the summary, this fic will be a TRORY. Thank you for your reviews and I am so glad that you like my fic that much! It means a lot to me.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.  


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Chapter 12: Greetings and a Moment

"Jess, just please leave it alone." Rory was growing frustrated at Jess' persistence to know her history with Tristan.

"Why won't you tell me?" It seemed like he wasn't going to stop.

She sighed. "We kind of liked each other before I left."

He raised an eyebrow. "'Kind of liked'? How can you kind of like someone?"

"Easily." She began to walk a little faster to get to the part of town she was sure her friends would be.

He was quiet for a while and Rory scolded herself mentally.

After a few moments of silence, Jess stopped walking and grabbed Rory's hand to get her attention. "I think I'm going find something else to do."

She looked at him sadly. "Jess, no," she pleaded. "I want you to meet them."

He shrugged. "They're your friends so you should get to catch up or whatever. I'll try to find a motel or something that we can stay at seeing as how we probably can't go back to your parent's without me worrying about pieces of my body getting cut off."

She sighed and gave him a quick hug. "Okay. Call me on my cell when you find something, okay?"

"Yeah." He turned and started to walk in the opposite direction.

She took in a deep breathe and continued on her way.

***

"Rory!" She smiled as all of her friends called out greetings.

"Hey!" She hugged each of them.

"Where have you been?"

"Massachusetts. Actually, the reason I came back was to-"

She was cut off by someone shouting something at them. "Sorry, guys. I was reading then saw…" Tristan trailed off when he saw Rory standing there. "Hey," he quietly said.

She nodded but didn't say anything. The air was thick with tension and their friends looked on with confused looks, all fully aware of all that happened between the two.

"Okay…" Bret, one of their friends started, "we were going to go over to the, uh…" he looked around to find a place they could go, "that fountain over there, so we're just going to go." Everyone left Rory and Tristan behind and they continued to stare at anything besides each other.

"You're back."

Rory looked up at him, confused at first by what he meant, before realizing his words. "I'm not back."

"What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb, hoping that she didn't mean it.

"Exactly that. I'm not back."

"You're leaving for good?"

She sighed, not really wanting to have the conversation. "I love it there."

"You don't love it here?"

She paused, considering whether or not she wanted to answer truthfully. "Not anymore," she whispered. 

Silence developed between them once again when all of a sudden Rory stumbled in her place. Tristan's arms went around her waist, balancing her right away. "Are you okay?"

She pulled away from his grasp, but he wouldn't let go. "I'm fine. Can you let me go?"

"No." 

She looked up at him and stared, tensing up when she noticed that he was moving closer to her. She looked past his shoulder and noticed someone watching them. "Jess!" He looked away then began to take off. "Jess!" she called out once more, jerking out of Tristan's hold and running towards Jess. "Hey…" She grabbed his hand.

He held something out, handing it to her. "I started walking, but noticed that I had your cell phone." 

Rory took it and tried to explain. "I was feeling dizzy and he just-"

"Save it, Rory!" he screamed, not really meaning for it to come out as forceful and cruel as it did.

"Jess…"

"I'll call you when I find a motel."

He walked off once again and she couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt that washed over her. She stood still for a few moments before turning around to head over to where her friends were.

"Rory."

"Not now, Tristan." She felt the sudden need to slap him.

"How could he just yell at you like that?" Tristan clenched his fists in anger at the exchange he witnessed between them.

"He didn't mean it, Tristan." 

"Like hell he didn't!" 

"He didn't." 

"How do you know?" 

She looked him squarely in the eyes. "Because I know him." She walked over to the fountain, almost positive that Tristan wouldn't bug her about the subject again.

***

Rory didn't get a call from Jess until three hours later, when it was almost dark outside, and she was starting to worry that he was trying to cut down as much time as he could from spending with her. They both stepped into the small room and he immediately flopped down on the bed.

"Jess?" she asked, still standing by the opened door.

"Yeah?" he answered, not bothering to look at her from his position on the bed.

"There's only one bed." She motioned slightly to it, as if trying to emphasize the point.

"They didn't have any other rooms with two beds, so I thought it was okay…unless you want one of us to sleep in the car."

She stared awkwardly around the room. "No," she shook her head, "it's okay."

He glanced at her. "Well…now that I have your permission…" he said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," she offered, talking about what had caused the rift between them.

He shrugged, trying to seem as nonchalant as he could. "You have nothing to be sorry about." He grabbed the bag that he brought with him and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

***

They had been lying in bed for an hour now, him lying on his back staring at the ceiling and her staring at him on her side; no words were spoken. "You can go back if you want." 

Jess looked over at her when she suddenly broke the silence. "What?"

"Go back. Take my car and I'll find another way to get back. You don't have to stay." She kept her eyes down towards her hands, her voice a soft whisper.

He sighed. "No. We were going to leave in a couple days anyway, so…"

She looked up at him and he quickly averted his eyes. "So…?"

"We'll just leave together as planned."

There was a beat of silence before she spoke. "Are you still mad at me?"

He sighed again and brought his hand up to his face, rubbing at his eyes. "Nope and wasn't before either."

She laughed slightly. "Could've fooled me."

He smiled. "I wasn't."

"Sure," she teased.

They were okay again.

***

She was relieved, to say the least. She and Jess had come back to her house the next morning so that she could pack up the possessions she needed and found that her parents were out somewhere. She brought Jess up to her room to help her pack; "_The faster, the better,"_ she thought.

"Jess…?"

He rolled his eyes; he knew that tone. "Yes?"

"Coffee?"

"You know, I understood that when we were in _my_ house, that I would get you some, and I even get you coffee when we're at coffee shops, but can you explain to me why when we're in _your_ house, I still have to get you some?"

She smirked. "Well, you have two choices here - you can either go find the coffee or go in the bathroom and pack up all of the tampons and feminine products in there."

He visibly winced at the words and Rory laughed. "Yeah… I think I'm gonna go find that coffee for you." She continued to laugh as he hurried out of the room.

***

Her door was open, the one that she had changed the lock to. There were boxes everywhere and he could sometimes see her going through her drawers or walking around to find something that she wanted. When he saw Jess leave the room, he hurried down his ladder and ran to hers. He was surprised that it was still there, but she had been gone for a while now, so even if he were to go up to her room, there would be nothing there. He paused for a second, watching her. "Rory…"

Her head shot up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you. I wasn't sure when you were leaving and I…"

They settled into an awkward silence. "In a couple days. Maybe a little sooner."

His eyes looked up at her with confusion. "What?"

"When we're leaving." She shrugged. "Whenever I get down packing, that's when we're leaving."

"You're really doing this?" The pain was evident in his voice as he slowly stepped closer to her.

She looked up into his eyes, noticing that they weren't as bright blue as they once were. "Yeah," she whispered. They fell into silence once again.

"You're pale," he stated. Tristan reached his hand out to touch her face, but she flinched at his touch and abruptly took a step back. 

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm fine." 

"No, you aren't." 

She gave him a look, about to say that he knew nothing about her, but decided against it. "Just because someone is pale doesn't mean that they are sick. People are pale all the time." 

"Maybe, but you aren't." 

She looked down. "I'm fine," she confirmed. 

"Hey, I couldn't find any coffee, but I-" Jess stopped short when he saw who Rory was talking to. "Hey." He gave a slight nod in Tristan's direction and handed Rory the soda.

Rory grabbed it, offering a quiet 'thanks', before looking up at Jess. "Jess, this is Tristan," she looked at Tristan, "Tristan, this is Jess."

Tristan and Rory looked unbelievably uncomfortable, but were too stubborn to admit to such a feeling. She cleared her throat and looked at Tristan, trying to ignore his powerful gaze. "We still have a lot of packing to do, so…"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I should get going anyway." He gave a look at Jess.

"It was nice seeing you again. Bye," Rory lamely offered.

"Same here. Bye." Tristan wanted to gag at the exchange of formal pleasantries; he thought that they worked beyond that years ago. He gave one last look at the pair before descending down the ladder.

***

__

~Later that day, Downtown Hartford~

Everyone had been laughing, talking, the whole time that they were walking together. Rory had taken notice of Jess' quietness, his sullen face, his hands resting in his pockets. He had hung back the majority of the time and was now just merely trailing behind from the rest of the group. Rory stopped one of her friends. "Hey, we'll meet up with you guys in a little bit, okay?" He nodded and Rory walked back to where Jess was. He stopped walking, knowing that she was there in front of him. "What's wrong?" 

He shrugged his shoulders, not looking up at her. "Nothing." 

She stepped closer to him, bringing her hands up to his face, bending down a little so that she could look into his crestfallen eyes. "Hey…" He looked at her. "Tell me." 

He sighed and brought his right hand up to her face, caressing her cheek. "I promise that I'm fine." She dropped her hands, in a way, feeling rejected because he couldn't tell her what had been on his mind. She took a step back from him, but his other hand went to her waist, pulling her back to him. "Don't walk away," he softly pleaded. 

She shook her head. "You don't want me here." 

She tried to take another step away, but his grip tightened. "That's not true." 

She looked up into his eyes. "Then why can't you tell me?" 

"It's not something I can easily put into words." 

"Try," Rory persisted.

"Rory…" 

"Fine." She broke from his grasp and turned to walk away. He gently grabbed her hand and turned her back around to face him; she avoided his stare. 

"Look at me, Rory." She didn't look up. "Lori…" he pleaded, hoping that she would respond to the special nickname he had for her. She looked up slowly. "Don't be mad at me." She looked away and frowned, still not saying anything. He stepped closer to her, bringing his hands up to her face, giving her no other option than to look at him. "I don't want you to be mad." 

"I want you to tell me," she whispered. 

He paused. "I want _you_," he spoke softly. Her eyes widened slightly, recalling the memories of the same spoken words Tristan had used. She stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He hesitated, slowly starting to regret telling her. He dropped his hands from her face and moved a couple steps back. "I'm sorry, I-" 

Rory stepped to him, closing the gap once again, kissing him softly and gently. She sighed softly when he responded. She didn't want to make the same mistake twice. "And I wanted to do that." He smiled at her, watching as she shut her eyes in contentment.

***

Tristan's eyes narrowed as he saw the romantic exchange between the couple from a few yards away. Maybe he had lost her for good.

**__**

:-D Sorry, I'm a day late than what I promised, but at least it's out, right? Well, please tell me what you think. Thank you!


	13. Moving On

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thanks _so_ much to all who reviewed. Who knew that people would actually enjoy my writing? Well, I hope that you guys will like this chapter, too, even though it is not as good as the last one.

Smile1: Thank you so much for your review! I liked that chapter, too, namely because of how Jess and Rory got together…just a little scene I had play in my head when I saw my crush one day… Actually, a lot of the romantic stuff I come up with is related to him somehow… Is that bad?

And thank you to the rest of you who have reviewed! And to the many who have commented on this fic's pairing, this will be a TRORY! You just have to wait a few more chapters for everything to work itself out. I promise!

****

NOTE: Since the Quick-Edit thing refused to let me use my asterisks, like usual, I had to write in different things to show there was a shift in time or in location, that kind of thing. Really pissed me off…I had to upload this chapter so many times to try to get the document to show some kind of break between each scene. Sorry if the notes bug you; I don't like that I had to do it, either.

****

Chapter 13: Moving On

****

Cut to Rory's room

Rory took a deep breathe as she looked around her almost bare room. Her bed was neatly made and her drawers and closet were almost empty. She smiled when she felt two arms wrap around her waist. "I did it," she stated almost proudly.

Jess kissed her neck. "Yes, you did."

Rory leaned back into his embrace and both stayed still in the serene silence.

****

Cut to a different time later that day in Rory's parents' study

Rory walked silently into her parents' study, almost afraid of what would happen if they noticed her presence before she was ready to face them. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, effectively causing both parents to look up. "Hey," she softly gave. Chris looked up with a sad look in his eyes and Lorelai refused to even look at her. Rory frowned before stepping further into the room and sitting on one of the chairs located across the table from her dad's desk; Lorelai was sitting on one of the leather chairs located to the right of him. She cleared her throat once more, hoping that this action would somehow give her the strength she needed to talk to them. "I want to start by saying that Jess had nothing to do with my decision to move." She looked down while saying this. She wasn't lying completely - Jess didn't have anything to do with her decision - he was just a…perk that came along with it.

"Bull." Lorelai's voice was full of anger and Rory almost flinched at the sound.

"He didn't," she whispered, not sure if she was trying to convince her mother or if she was just afraid that her mom would think she would pack up her entire life for a guy. She looked up again. "I just think that this is something I need to do, something that I'll regret _not_ doing if I stay."

Lorelai looked up at her for the first time since she had found out about her moving. "So you regret living with us?"

Rory stared at her with disbelief. "No! I-I just… I just don't know how to live here anymore. I feel…like I'm drowning. I can't breathe here, mom."

A flash of understanding went through her eyes, but she quickly looked away; she was never one to give in right away, or even at all sometimes. She remained silent.

"When do you leave?" Rory looked up at her dad, almost surprised at his sudden entrance into the conversation.

"Well, I'm already done packing, so…"

"Can you stay one more day?" he asked sadly.

Rory looked at him with confusion in her eyes, but agreed anyway. "Sure."

****

Cut to a different time later that day in Jess' and Rory's motel room

"How did it go?" Jess looked up from the book he was reading when Rory had come in through the door of the motel they were staying at.

"It went fine, I guess. Mom is still quite…peeved…about the whole thing, but at least she didn't lock me up in one of the rooms." She took off her jacket and sat down on the bed next to him.

He chuckled at her response; funny that he could actually picture Lorelai doing that. "So does that mean we're leaving?" He pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheek.

"Actually…" she started, "my dad wants me to stay one more day to go to this social function thing tonight." At the look of apprehension on Jess' face, she quickly continued. "They only want me to go, so you're free to do whatever you would like to." She stayed silent, trying to decipher the look in his eyes.

"I'll go." He looked straight ahead of him at the wall.

She gave a small smile. "You'll hate it."

"Most likely, but if you want to go, then I'll go."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it's probably going to be the most boring thing you'll ever experience."

He smirked at her. "That's where making fun of the people there comes in. And who knows? Maybe we'll see if any of them just _happen_ to trip over themselves.

Rory rose an eyebrow. "You're going to behave, right?"

"As much as I can." He continued to smirk.

"Okay…that doesn't provide me much comfort."

He softly chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss.

****

Cut to a different time later that day outside the Kindred residence

Rory grip on Jess' hand tightened as they waited for someone to answer the door.

"Rory, relax."

She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not like I haven't been to one of these before."

"No…I didn't mean that. You kind of have a death grip on my hand here and I would like to _not_ have it broken." She playfully slapped him as the door opened.

"Rory, hi!"

"Hi, Mrs. Kindred." Both Jess and Rory smiled kindly at the woman who was around Lorelai's age. "I would like you to meet Jess." She slightly waved in his direction.

He gave a small nod as she ushered them into the house. "Your parent's are here somewhere, Rory. Oh! I think Tristan is here, as well." "Rory almost cringed at the thought. She didn't think that she could deal with him anymore. "Well, I'll leave you two to your fun. I'll see you later, all right, dear?"

Before Rory could answer, the hostess had already taken off.

"Well…that was…interesting." Rory gave him a small smile and led him to the library, almost unconsciously. After they shut the door behind them, Rory walked over to the selection of books while Jess stayed near the door. "So…let me ask you something."

Rory looked up briefly from the titles to look at him then looked back down. "Sure."

"How come you introduced me as 'Jess'?"

She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Because it's your name?"

He laughed. "Yes, thank you for clearing that up. I meant, why did you _only_ introduce me as 'Jess'?"

She walked over to him until she was standing a few inched away. "I don't understand."

"Well…" he gently grabbed one of her hands with his, "you could have said, 'This is my _friend_, Jess' or something else."

"Oh." She paused for a little while, following the way his fingers trailed over hers. "I didn't know what to call you, title-wise."

He pretended to think it over. "I was thinking that you could cal me your…boyfriend."

She smiled. "Can I?"

He kissed her forehead ever-so-slightly. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

She kissed his chin and both stood in each other's embrace. "Hey, boyfriend?"

"Yes?"

"Want to get me something to drink?"

He chuckled, a sound she thought would be impossible to live without. "I should have seen that coming." He moved out of her arms and headed for the door.

She stood staring at the place he occupied for a few seconds before moving to shut it. Just as it was about to close, the door swung open suddenly and knocked her to her knees. She cringed at the feel of her skin breaking.

The person who had knocked her down quickly went to her side. "I'm so sor-" The voice stopped suddenly, causing Rory to look up.

"Tristan."

****

Cut to the party during the same time on the same day

"Is she here?"

"Yes, Lorelai, our daughter is here." Chris sighed silently as he listened to his wife's constant questions and remarks.

"I don't get why she has to move. I mean, this is a good place to live, right? Of course! But _no_! She has to be a little brat and go to live in another place that isn't Connecticut and in a house that isn't ours and-" She stopped abruptly when she saw someone at the refreshments table. She mumbled something under her breath as she made her way over. Chris followed, not sure what she was going to do. "You!"

Jess jumped slightly at the voice. He turned around and saw Lorelai, someone he forgot to avoid when looking for the drinks. He sighed. "Me."

She ignored him. "_You! You_ took away _our_ daughter, my daughter! You have no right!"

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "Look, I did not convince her to leave. She wants to move because _she_ wants to move."

"No! You brainwashed her! You made her think that she had to move out there!"

Jess had enough. "It's not my fault she doesn't want you in her life anymore."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she grew silent, suddenly noticing the attention they had gotten. Jess paused, waiting to see if she had anything else to say. Sure, he didn't mean to say that, and he was positive that was _not_ the reason why Rory wanted to move, but it had just slipped out. _No one _talked to him like that. He grabbed a random can of soda off the table and turned to head back to the library.

****

Cut to the library, same time on the same day

Tristan quickly drew his hands away from her and took a few steps back. Rory struggled slightly to get to her feet. Once Tristan noticed the blood that had appeared, he rushed over to her again to inspect it. He was about to apologize fully when he remembered what had happened the previous day. He stood up and headed off to the bathroom, in search for some Band-Aids and a cloth to clean it up. When he came back, he saw that Rory had made it to a table where she sat on. He walked over to her and was about to start washing her knee up when her voice caught his attention. "What's wrong with you?"

He looked down again and began to wipe up the blood, not really caring at the moment if he inflicted more pain. "I saw you yesterday."

Realization hit her and she would have said something, but was too focused on the pain. "Ow!" He continued on treating her wound with the same hostility as before. "Ow-Tristan, what part of 'ow!' don't you understand?"

His cold eyes turned toward hers. "The part where I care."

She narrowed her eyes. "You can't stay mad at me forever."

He threw the cloth onto the table and put the bandage on her. "Yeah, well, I can try." He walked out of the room.

Rory shut her eyes and brought a hand up to her face, trying to stop the tears before they came.

****

Cut to the hallway, same time on the same day

Jess walked slowly down the hall, mumbling useless words. As he came upon the door, someone rushed out, someone who looked very familiar, and pushed passed him. "Hey, watch it!" Jess called out to his retreating back. Jess sighed at his pathetic attempt and entered the room, only to find Rory hunched over on a table, her body somewhat shaking from the silent sobs he knew were escaping his body. He dropped the can of soda and hurried over to her. "What's wrong?" He brought his hands to the sides of her face and tried to make her look up him.

She let him straighten out her posture, but she kept her eyes on anything besides him. "Can we go?"

He looked at her with worry in his eyes. "Sure." He grabbed her hand and gently guided her through the mass of people, making sure to cover her face so no one could see her tears. They got into the car and Jess drove back to the motel.

****

Cut to outside the motel, different time on the same day

A few minutes later, they arrived at their temporary home. Jess walked over to the passenger side and opened the door, careful not to wake a now sleeping Rory. He carefully picked her up, shutting the door behind him as he carried her to the room. Once inside, he placed her on the bed and went into the bathroom to change.

****

Cut to inside the motel, different time on the same day

Rory wiped the tears from her face as she got up from the bed, in search of clothes that would actually bring her some comfort. She quickly changed into a tank top and sweat pants then returned to the bed, waiting for Jess to finish in the bathroom. She shut her eyes momentarily, trying to get rid of the pain Tristan had caused her with those few but effective words.

"Hey." She opened her eyes and saw Jess leaning against the doorframe, wearing boxers and a t-shirt. She gave him a weak smile and motioned for him to join her. They both moved under the covers and Jess wrapped his arms around her. "What happened?" His voice almost seemed reluctant to ask, almost afraid to find out what her answer would be for he remembered who the person was who ran into him and left the same room his girlfriend had been in.

She looked up at him and gave a smile. "Can we talk about this later?" He didn't answer right away, not liking the idea that she didn't want to tell him, but gave in anyway. "Of course."

She smiled again and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before settling into his arms. Jess sighed and eventually let tiredness overcome his body as well.

****

Cut to downtown Hartford, different time on the next day

He came downtown a lot, to hang out with his friends. There was this part of the town that closed off behind all of the shops, giving people the sense of nature that was rarely seen in Hartford. She knew she would find him here.

She looked around, needing to talk to him, needing to tell him that at one point, she did love him, that she still might, that maybe things worked out for the better.

She soon enough saw him sitting down near a fountain with a few of his guy friends. His back was to her and she was going to walk up to him when she had heard one of his friends say, "Looks like someone is here to see you," pointing behind him at her.

He had a solemn look on his face, much different from the solid demeanor he had whenever he was near her, but as soon as he saw that it was her, his face turned cold and unreadable. This was not going to be easy. He seemed reluctant to get up, but he didn't want to talk to her in front of his friends. He got up and pulled her a few feet away from the audience. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." She told herself that she would at least try to be civil, try not to yell at him, grow angry.

"I thought that it was pretty clear last night that I don't want to talk to you." He turned away and began to walk back to his friends.

She was growing frustrated. "You're not even going to listen to what I have to say?" she called out to him.

He turned and glared at her. "You don't deserve it."

She gave a disbelieving laugh. "Well, I guess that's all the closure we need. Bye, Tristan." She turned on her heel and walked back to her car.

Tristan shook his head and walked back to his friends, desperately trying to forget the girl that consumed his every thought.

****

Tristan's thoughts, Hartford, a week later

He hadn't seen her for a week now. Her room was practically empty, he noticed when he would occasionally peer over into her window. That painful twitch in his heart grew as the days went by… She was really gone…

****

Cut to Massachusetts, same time, Rory's POV

It was a week now. A week since she had left. She doubted that anyone noticed; she really wasn't a noticeable person, anyway. She didn't care. At least she was somewhere where people actually talked to her without any hidden motives behind their niceness other than just being nice. That was something she needed in her life, something that she had never found at Chilton. She liked it here…no regrets…

**__**

A/N: That's it for this chapter. What do you think? Might not be as emotion filled and good as the previous chapter, but at least I wrote something, right? Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!


	14. Lost Grips on Reality

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has read. Sorry for the wait for this chapter. I'm going to have to get rid of that laziness soon…

Disclaimer: You know…if I did own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters on the show, I would most likely be rich and happy and in no need of being careful of how I spend my money, but, alas, no such thing is true.

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Chapter 14: Lost Grips on Reality

Jess leaned back in his chair, staring out the window at Rory. She sat outside with her friends, eating lunch on one of the tables. He had declined when she asked him to come out with her and now he was wondering why he did. It seemed like every five seconds he would look up to see her, see her take a drink of her pop or see her laugh or see her talk animatedly to another person at the table. He would smile every time he looked up at her and would unconsciously block out everything that was said by everyone at the table he was sitting at. By the time he had returned to awareness, he found all of his friends staring at him. He rose an eyebrow, trying to act as if they were the ones acting weird. "What?"

Joey laughed, one of the guys that he considered to be a brother. "You've been staring at her for the past 20 minutes. Why don't you just go out there?"

He rolled his eyes slightly, slouching down a little further in his chair. "I have not."

Everyone erupted into laughter as Jess slouched down more. "Dude, you need to get a grip."

Jess glared at everyone and got up, heading the opposite way Rory was.

………………………………

A few minutes later, he felt the wind softly tickled the hair on his arms. He took a couple more steps before seeing what he had come for - Rory. He had walked through the freshmen hallway and out the door, traveling behind the school. He did want to see Rory, but he'd soon rather burn in hell than have his friends be able to predict his every move.

Rory's face visibly brightened with a smile as she saw his boyfriend approaching. "Hey…" she called out as soon as he was close enough.

"Hey." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before situating himself sideways next to her.

"I thought that you didn't want to come out here," she stated while brushing away a clump of hair that was blowing across his face.

He leaned into her touch then kissed her palm. "I missed you." She smiled at his words and began to lean in to kiss him.

"Awwwww….."

Rory smiled and looked over at her friends that had witnessed the whole exchange. Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she didn't say anything. Her friends went back to eating their food and chatting away. After a few minutes, she felt Jess move closer to her to whisper something in her ear. "Wanna go somewhere?" She smirked, a trait she had learned from Tristan a long time ago, but continued to stare down at the half-eaten sandwich on the table without saying anything. He waited for a few seconds before moving her hair aside to place a kiss on her neck. "Please…?" She softly chuckled then gathered up her trash and grabbed Jess' hand. He smirked, letting her drag him into the school.

………………………………

"Lori…?"

Rory looked up briefly from her locker before returning her gaze to her books. "Yes?"

"Why are we at your locker?" he questioned as he leaned against the locker next to hers.

"Because I need to get books for my next class," she replied innocently.

"Yes, but," he started while turning her around in his arms, "I wanted to come inside, away from all of your friends for a whole different reason." He kissed the tip of her nose then swept his lips softly over her eyelids.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked, completely melting into his touch.

"Mhmm…" he grumbled before kissing her lips, her responding without a second thought.

"Oh! Look at what we have here!"

Jess rolled his eyes and pulled away slightly to look at the owner of the voice. "Have you nothing better to do, Cory?" He gave a knowing glance, eyeing Rory in a way that she nor Jess approved of. "Get out of here."

After he made his exit, Rory leaned back against the locker, looking Jess in the eyes. "I don't like him," she stated flatly, knowing exactly what Jess would say.

"That's just the way he is, Rory. Give him a chance." He loosened his grip on her hips slightly.

She paused momentarily before stepping out of his grasp completely, returning her attention to her locker. "I have. I've given an unspeakable amount of chances and all he does is…look at me like that and speak to me in the same way."

"He's my friend," Jess stated defensively.

"Well, what a great friend that is," she mumbled under her breath.

"Rory, he-" he stopped, trying to keep his anger in check. He didn't know why he was getting so upset. It was true; Cory did have a tendency to speak to Rory or even about her in a more than platonic way, but he couldn't help but get offended at her low opinion of the friends he had made. "I'm going to get to class," he stated, his jaw clenched.

Rory turned around and her eyes softened. "We still have ten minutes."

He took a couple of steps back. "Then I'm just gonna wander around." He turned and started to walk off.

"Jess, wait," she offered softly, knowing that he could hear her, anyway. A wave of sadness hit her when he didn't turn around and continued on his way down the hall.

………………………………

He had been staring at the same page for over 20 minutes, not able to comprehend anything. He sighed deeply and shook his head, trying to clear out his thoughts and concentrate on what he was supposed to be doing. It didn't work. He thought about, wondered, what she was doing, if she was okay where she was now, if she was indeed more happy at her new location.

He mindlessly began to tap his pencil against the top of his desk, not noticing the glares from the neighboring students.

He didn't understand why she was different, so different from the rest. He never cared about a girl before, not as fully as he did with her. She was on his mind constantly and he had already forgotten what his life was like without her in it.

"Tristan, if you don't stop that, I'm going to cut your hand off and shove it down your throat!"

Tristan looked up to see a steaming Paris, her hands grasping the edges of her desks, her eyes watching as his hand still tapped the pencil on his desk. He smirked, an automatic reaction on his part to anything that happened, and tapped the pencil louder and more faster a few more times before stopping completely. "I love you, too, Paris."

Paris glared at him before turning her attention back to the assignment at hand. He sighed inaudibly once more before staring blankly at the book again.

………………………………

"Will, have you seen Jess?"

Will looked behind him, finding Rory to be a little more apprehensive than she usually is. "No, not since lunch."

"Okay, thanks," she replied softly before heading off in another direction to find her boyfriend. He had managed to avoid all possible contact with her in the last two hours. They had the same classes together and not once did he look at her or acknowledge her presence.

She finally gave up when she had gone through all of the hallways and looked in all the classrooms. He was nowhere to be found.

**__**

A/N: Okay, I know that it isn't much and a pretty crappy chapter, but at least you know that I haven't stopped writing, or typing, rather, right? But, guess what? It's my birthday today (the 13th)! I am very happy…well, as happy as one can get when you are absolutely bored out of your mind and have to work on such an occasion. Well, review, please. In return, I'll try not to take as long to put up the next chapter. (Yeah, okay, that's a lie. I'll probably take just as long, if not longer, to get chapter 15 up, but I promise that it will be made.)

I'm sad. I just watched the Late Late Show, which Chad Michael Murray was one of the guest of, and found out that he is now engaged to Sophia Bush. Can you believe that? Okay, yeah, off subject.


	15. Hanging Up

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The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews. To all of you who are wondering when the 'TRORYness' is going to come in, please be patient as everything works itself out. It'll come. I promise that.

Disclaimer: I only own Maggie. I also borrowed Jess' infamous line "I'm leaving" from an episode, but you'll have to forgive for not remembering which one.

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Chapter 15: Hanging Up

She finally spotted him in the library, sitting at a table that was in the back corner, his head turned down towards the book. She fought to resist the urge to take the book from him and smack him senseless with it. "Jess?"

He looked up suddenly then back down as he closed his book and grabbed his jacket from its place on the floor. "I'm leaving."

"Way to state the obvious," she retorted, blocking his way.

He clenched his jaw as he repeatedly tried to get passed her without touching her. "Rory," he stated firmly.

"No. I'm not moving until you listen to me."

He didn't say anything, but took it as a sign to go on when he took a couple steps back and looked at her expectantly.

"Okay," she said to herself. "I know that you're mad at me for saying all those things about your friend, but that doesn't mean it isn't true."

He rolled his eyes and tried to get past her, but stopped when her hands placed themselves on his chest. He shut his eyes and hung his head. This was why he didn't want to touch her. It always seemed to make him forget things, do things he normally wouldn't do.

She brought one of her hands up to gently pull through his hair. "Please don't be mad at me."

He sighed inaudibly and dropped his book and jacket on the floor, bringing his arms around her waist. "I'm not," he replied softly as he kissed the tip of her nose.

………………………………

"We wish you were here. We miss you."

Rory sighed. "I miss you guys, too, dad."

"Then come back," Chris stated.

Rory shut her eyes. "We've been over this."

"Yes, but maybe not enough. You're still out there."

"I'm not coming back, at least not any time soon."

There was a long pause, before Chris finally responded. "Okay, I'll let it go…for now. Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, dad."

"Wait, before you hang up, can I ask you to do a favor?"

"Sure. What?"

"Talk to Jess about what he said to your mom at the party. She's been mopping around the house for a few days now, thoroughly upset about it."

"What he said," Rory repeated, confused.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not expecting him to get onto his hands and knees and beg for her to forgive him, 'cause honestly, he doesn't seem like the type, but he should at least have some kind of restraint when it comes to talking to adults."

"Um, yeah, sure, I'll talk to him."

"Okay. Bye. Give Maggie a kiss for me, alright."

"Alright. Bye." Rory hung up the phone and looked out the window, wondering what Jess could have said that would make her mom so angry.

………………………………

"Hey." Jess placed an arm on Rory's waist and kissed her forehead.

"Hey," she replied absentmindedly.

He pulled back slightly to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him and a look crossed her face as if she had just noticed he was there.

He scrunched his eyebrows together. "I said, 'What's wrong?'" He paused a second then lifted the back of his hand to her forehead. "Are you alright?"

She shut her eyes momentarily and nodded. "Yeah. Although, I do have to talk to you about something."

"What?" Jess replied while sitting on the edge of her bed, his hands now in hers.

"Did you say something to my mom at that party? I just got a call from my dad and he said that she's pretty bummed, supposedly over what you said."

He sighed. "She said something about me brainwashing you so I just said the first thing that came to mind."

She glanced down at him, almost hesitantly. "What?"

"I think I said that it wasn't my fault that you didn't want her in your life anymore."

Her eyes widened and she dropped his hands. "You said what?"

"Look, Rory," he started while standing up again, "she pissed me off and I usually don't get a chance to think about the things that come out of my mouth before they do."

She shut her eyes and brought her hands to her face. "So you told her that I didn't want her in my life anymore? You couldn't have thought of anything else to say?"

His temper started to flare as well. "Rory, she was yelling at me for no reason in front of all these people. What was I supposed to do? Just walk away?"

"Yes! Since when do you care what people think of you, Jess?! You should have just walked away or screamed something like 'Shut the hell up!'! That probably would have been better!"

"Rory," he started, reaching his hand out to hers, wanting her to calm down.

She jerked her hand away from his. "Get out."

"What?" he asked, reaching for her hand once more.

She took a few more steps back "Get out," she said as calmly as she could.

His jaw clenched as he stood there a few extra seconds then turned to head out the door.

Rory waited for the door to slam shut before she sunk to the floor with her head in her hands.

………………………………

Rory didn't talk to Jess for three days after their fight. He was getting frustrated, but didn't know what to do. Even though it was against his normal actions, he called her. She hung up on him. All five times he called.

………………………………

"Hello?"

Jess hesitated, not really wanting to do what he was going to do. "Hi. Is Lorelai there?"

"Yes, she is. May I ask who's calling?"

He hesitated again, having already experienced his fair share of being hung up on. "Jess." There was a drawn out silence on the other side of the line and Jess was about to give up when he finally heard Chris respond.

"Just a moment."

Jess heard the phone being set down and footsteps, then mumbled conversation in the background before the phone was picked up again.

"Hello?"

Here goes nothing. "Lorelai? This is Jess."

He heard her scoff. Apparently Chris didn't tell her who it was she going to talk to. "And to what do I owe this pleasure to?" was her sarcastic response.

He repressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I was just calling to apologize…for what I said to you."

There was another pause. He was beginning to hate those. "Why?"

He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it strangely, as if Lorelai could see his expression. He pulled it back. "What do you mean 'why'? I was calling to apologize so I'm apologizing."

"Rory made you call, didn't she?"

He sighed. He briefly forgot that the aforementioned girl wasn't even talking to him to be able to force him to make the call. "No. She isn't even talking to me."

Another pause. "Why isn't she talking to you?"

"She got pissed when she heard what I said to you."

"Ah…" came her response, then another pause. Jess was ready to scream. "She won't talk to you so you had no other choice than to 'apologize'," she stated with an eye roll and the infamous air quotes with her hands, "so that you two can make up and you can go back to being the brooding man you think you are. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but those are not very honorable intentions, so it is to my satisfaction to tell you that I _don't_ accept your apology. Bye." Without waiting for a response, she hung up.

Jess stared at the phone again. It was one thing to have his girlfriend hang up on him, but her _mother_? That was just sad. He dialed their number again.

"Hello?" came the now chipper voice of Lorelai.

"Look, lady," he started in a fake niceness, "I wanted to apologize, so I'm gonna do it. I'm sorry. There, happy? Probably not, but I don't care. I said I was going to apologize, so I did. You don't have to accept, but I don't care. I don't care. Bye." He hung up the phone with a smirk on his face. Maybe hanging up on people wasn't such a bad thing after all.

………………………………

She placed the phone back in the cradle with a heavy sigh. "Come on, Rory," she muttered to herself, "you can do this." She picked up the phone and dialed the number that was imprinted into her mind.

"Hello?"

Her breath hitched. She was tempted to hang up. She had heard his voice; that was all that she wanted.

"Hello?" the voice asked once more.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She heard the person sigh then was met with the dial tone. She put the phone down and shook her hands, trying to calm down. She picked up the phone again and hit 'redial'.

"Hello?"

She took a deep breath and gripped the phone a little tighter. "Tristan? It's Rory."

………………………………

A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. Tell me what you think.


	16. Everything's Alright

****

The Twists and Turns of Life

A/N: Silly me, I made a mistake. In chapter 14, if you can even remember, Jess and Rory got into a little fight and I ended the chapter without them really making up. That's fine really because I had every intention of having them make up in the next chapter (15), but then I got some ideas rolling with Rory's parents and that whole "hanging up" thing, that I forgot to have them make up. So, in order to set things right up to where the story is now, I wrote in a another beginning to the previous chapter that has them do that (which is kind of stupid - them making up then immediately getting into another fight where Rory doesn't even talk to Jess anymore, but please just go with it and try not to beat me over the head with the fact that I messed up). Anyway, sorry about that.

Thank you to all of the people who have read and reviewed. _Sorry to those of you who want to see Jess gone. He's here to stay until the 2nd or 3rd to the last chapter. However, there will be some TRORYness in the next couple of chapters._

Disclaimer: Even though I don't even mention her anymore, Maggie is mine.

****

Chapter 16: Everything's Alright

There was a pause. Nothing. No noise. She held the phone closer to her ear in order to try to hear something on the other end, breathing or any kind of background noise. "…Tristan?" she asked hesitantly. She had forgotten why she called him in the first place. Her heart tugged in anticipation as it began to beat faster.

"Yeah." His voice was soft and gruff; she almost didn't believe it was him.

She cleared her throat for the lack of anything better to do, the sound ridiculously loud among the silence. "So…how are you doing?" She wanted to slap herself. "_How are you doing?"? "How are you doing?"?! That was the best you could come up with?!_ She listened once again to the silence on the other end of the phone.

Tristan sighed as he rubbed his face with his free hand. "Why are you calling, Rory?"

She immediately felt the sadness take over her body and was trying to fight back the unwelcome tears. "I-" she stopped to take a deep breath, "I…just wanted to hear your voice."

He paused once more, hearing the words but not really comprehending them. "Why are you calling?" he repeated one more time.

This time, the tears had started to fall. She shut her eyes and fell back onto the floor, trying to muffle her soft sobs with her other hand. "I miss you, okay?" she whispered softly. There was silence once more as a response for Tristan and she hung up before he had a chance to hurt her even more.

………………………………

He sighed to himself for the millionth time that day as he ran a hand through his hair. With one hand in his pocket, he stared up at the window he thought to be hers and replayed the speech he had prepared in his head. He suddenly rolled his eyes, thinking to himself how gone he already was for this girl…his girl…his Lori…

………………………………

Rory ran down the stairs as she heard the doorbell chime through the house. Before she had a chance to slam the door back shut, Jess, stepped halfway in, blocking out all attempts made by her to push him out.

"Before you throw me out, just listen to what I have to say. If you don't like what you hear, then I'll leave you alone."

She stared back at him sadly, then nodded in agreement. As he brushed past her, Rory shut her eyes as his scent reached her nose. She had forgotten that he had such a distinguishable smell to him. She would choose to have that smell forever implanted in her memory if she could.

He sat down on the couch and motioned for her to join him. She did hesitantly and made sure to put a good couple of feet between them. He resisted both the urge to roll his eyes and yell at her.

As she shifted uncomfortably, he moved closer to her and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry," he stated bluntly.

She frowned. _Isn't an apology supposed to be more than that?_ She tried to pull her hand away from his, but he held it tighter.

"No, I'm not done." He paused a second and looked at their entwined fingers. "I know that I had no right to say what I did to your mom and I am incredibly sorry." He looked up into her eyes. "Please forgive me?"

She stared back intently, searching for something she couldn't place. As she opened her mouth to say something, the phone rang and Jess let out an aggravated sigh.

She turned and grabbed the phone on the table. "Hello?"

"…Rory?"

She scrunched her eyebrows together. "Mom?"

………………………………

Tristan stared blankly at the words in front of him. He found himself doing that a lot lately, dazing off during class and pretending to pay attention. No one noticed, he thanked whatever God that might exist for that, because to them, he was just acting normal. It wasn't until yesterday that Paris had called him on it and in her own special way, told him to start focusing more. He rolled his eyes and sarcastically thanked her, but he was glad that at least one person had been paying attention to him without an ulterior motive to their actions.

After Rory had called two days ago, he couldn't help but think about what she had confessed. _"I miss you, okay?"_ He felt his heart jump, as stupid and insane as it sounds for a guy to feel that, and hadn't been able to concentrate on anything else since.

He missed her. He knew that for sure. No matter what he tried to convince himself to believe or however mad she made him, he knew that he missed her. It was then that he knew what he had to do. He had to go see her.

………………………………

Lorelai felt a giggle escape from her mouth before she even had time to think of it. In fact, a regular giggle would have been fine, but she felt her voice raise and wanted to slap herself when it came out high-pitched and squeaky. She cleared her throat for good measure and purposely lowered her voice so she could avoid sounding weird again. "Hey."

Rory made a face and paused for a few seconds. "Why is your voice all weird?"

__

Damn. She cleared her throat again, sounding normal again. "Nothing. Just a weird…throat…thing," she finished lamely.

"Right," Rory nodded, even though she knew her mom couldn't see her. There was an awkward pause in the conversation and Rory found herself repeatedly tucking hair behind her ear for something to do, all the while knowing that Jess was watching her every move from the couch. "So…" she started, "um…did you need something?"

"No, not really," Lorelai shook her head and sat down on the couch, "I just wanted to call and see how you were doing."

"Oh, well, I'm good. It's good here."

"Good," Lorelai cleared her throat again and hesitantly started to ask her next question. "So, how's Jess doing?"

Rory's eyes immediately raised to Jess' and she smiled slightly when he raised an eyebrow at her. "He's good."

"Really?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, from out conversation yesterday, he didn't seem all that chipper."

"You talked to him yesterday?" she asked while giving Jess a look.

"Yeah. He apologized to me, in the weird and twisted way that I'm sure only he can, and hung up on me when I didn't accept."

"Huh," escaped from Rory's lips as she tried to envision Jess apologizing to her mom over the phone. "You didn't accept?"

"Nope, not at first, but if that boy has enough guts to tell me off _and_ hang up on me, he can't be _that_ bad."

Rory smiled to herself then looked back up at Jess. He smiled back, almost positive as to why she was happy. "I have to go now, mom. I'll talk to you later?" she asked hopefully.

"You bet."

After saying their 'goodbyes', Rory hung up the phone and turned to Jess. "You apologized to my mom?" she asked with a smile.

He smiled back and brought his arms around her. "Well, you weren't speaking to me so I figured it was something I had to do in order to be able to kiss you again," he teased while giving her a light peck to prove his point.

She feigned shock by gasping. "Is that all I'm good for to you?"

"You know it," he whispered before kissing her again.

………………………………

A smile was etched on her face after Jess had left. She leaned against the doorway for an unknown time, letting the happy feeling flow over her. She took in a deep breath and let it out, coming out of her daze as a knock on the door was heard. She took a step back instantly with a shocked expression on her face.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to find this house?" Tristan asked as he leaned against the doorway, smirk ever-present.

………………………………

A/N: Okay, I must apologize now, one, for I _suck_ at writing dialogues, especially ones including Lorelai (sorry if it seemed to drag on and on and on…) and second, for the crappy chapter. Yeah, you might as well get used to it. There are probably more to come. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think.


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